Abstract
During 2005-2006, nine measles virus (MV) genotypes were identified throughout the World Health Organization European Region. All major epidemics were associated with genotypes D4, D6, and B3. Other genotypes (B2, D5, D8, D9, G2, and H1) were only found in limited numbers of cases after importation from other continents. The genetic diversity of endemic D6 strains was low; genotypes C2 and D7, circulating in Europe until recent years, were no longer identified. The transmission chains of several indigenous MV strains may thus have been interrupted by enhanced vaccination. However, multiple importations from Africa and Asia and virus introduction into highly mobile and unvaccinated communities caused a massive spread of D4 and B3 strains throughout much of the region. Thus, despite the reduction of endemic MV circulation, importation of MV from other continents caused prolonged circulation and large outbreaks after their introduction into unvaccinated and highly mobile communities.
Highlights
During 2005–2006, nine measles virus (MV) genotypes were identified throughout the World Health Organization European Region
In 2005 and 2006, at least 40% and 55%, respectively, of the member states had a measles incidence that was above the elimination threshold
Genotype C2 has been continuously detected in the European Region since the early 1970s and is considered to be the indigenous genotype of Europe [4,5]
Summary
During 2005–2006, nine measles virus (MV) genotypes were identified throughout the World Health Organization European Region. D6 viruses have been regularly reported from different countries of the European Region since the early 1990s [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12], and genotype D6–associated outbreaks or sporadic cases on other continents were mostly due to MV importations from Europe [13,14,15] (Figure 1) These observations provide overwhelming evidence for the endemic circulation of genotype D6 in Europe at least during the past 15 years. Because the same variant was reported throughout 2000–2005 from different European countries (Figure 1), the cases in 2005 and 2006 were most probably due to endemic transmission of MV in the European Region
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